garment-costing-formulas

Open costing models, margin formulas, and landed cost calculators for the apparel industry.

Why This Exists

Every fashion brand needs to cost garments, calculate margins, and understand landed costs. The formulas are well-known in the industry but rarely documented in a structured, machine-readable format. This dataset gives you the building blocks to calculate garment costs, set pricing, and build costing tools.

Costing Methods

| Method | Who Supplies Materials? | Brand Control | Typical Use | |--------|------------------------|---------------|-------------| | FOB (Free On Board) | Factory | Medium | Most common for Asia sourcing | | CMT (Cut, Make, Trim) | Brand | High | Premium brands sourcing own fabrics | | Full Package | Factory | Low | New brands, new categories |

FOB Breakdown

FOB Price
├── Fabric Cost (40-60%)          consumption_yards x price_per_yard
├── Trim Cost (5-15%)             sum(trim_qty x trim_unit_price)
├── CMT Labor (20-35%)            SAM x minute_rate x (1 + overhead%)
└── Factory Profit (5-15%)        subtotal x margin%

CMT Minute Rates by Country

| Country | Minute Rate | Typical Products | |---------|-------------|-----------------| | Bangladesh | $0.03-0.05 | Basic knits, woven shirts, fast fashion | | Cambodia | $0.03-0.05 | Casualwear, basic garments | | Myanmar | $0.02-0.04 | Basic cut & sew | | Vietnam | $0.05-0.08 | Outerwear, activewear, complex construction | | India | $0.04-0.07 | Embroidered, handwork, organic cotton | | Indonesia | $0.04-0.07 | Swimwear, denim, knitwear | | Pakistan | $0.03-0.05 | Denim, home textiles | | China (coastal) | $0.08-0.15 | Technical, complex, high-MOQ | | China (inland) | $0.05-0.09 | Mid-complexity, growing capacity | | Turkey | $0.08-0.12 | Denim, knitwear, fast-turn near-shore for EU | | Morocco | $0.07-0.10 | Near-shore for EU, basics and jersey | | Bulgaria | $0.07-0.10 | Near-shore EU, growing capacity | | Romania | $0.08-0.12 | Near-shore EU, mid-complexity | | Portugal | $0.15-0.25 | Premium, small-run, sustainable | | Italy | $0.25-0.50 | Luxury, tailoring, leather goods |

SAM (Standard Allowed Minutes) by Garment

| Garment | SAM Range | Notes | |---------|-----------|-------| | Basic T-Shirt | 8-12 min | Single jersey, minimal construction | | Hoodie | 15-22 min | Fleece, kangaroo pocket, hood | | Woven Shirt | 18-25 min | Button placket, collar, cuffs | | Jeans | 18-25 min | Denim, rivets, multiple pockets | | Basic Trouser | 14-20 min | Chino/cotton twill | | Simple Dress | 20-35 min | Depends heavily on construction | | Swimwear Bikini | 12-18 min | Elastic, lining, small pieces | | Down Jacket | 45-70 min | Baffles, zippers, complex assembly | | Tailored Jacket | 90-180 min | Canvas, lining, hand finishing | | Evening Gown | 120-240 min | Beading, draping, boning, hand work |

Landed Cost Formula

Landed Cost = FOB + Freight + Duty + Insurance + Brokerage + Handling
                    |          |       |           |           |
                    |          |       |           |           └─ $0.25-1.00/unit
                    |          |       |           └─ $150-400/shipment
                    |          |       └─ 0.3-0.5% of cargo value
                    |          └─ 0-32% of FOB (depends on HS code + origin)
                    └─ $0.15-0.50/unit sea, $2-8/unit air

Typical Breakdown

| Component | Share of Landed Cost | |-----------|---------------------| | FOB Price | 80-85% | | Freight | 3-8% | | Import Duty | 8-15% | | Insurance | 0.3-0.5% | | Customs Brokerage | 0.5-1% | | Warehouse Handling | 1-2% |

Margin Models

Wholesale

Landed Cost  ---[2.2-2.5x]-->  Wholesale Price  ---[2.0-2.5x]-->  Retail Price

Example:
$12.00 landed  -->  $28.00 wholesale (57% margin)  -->  $58.00 retail (52% margin)

Direct-to-Consumer

Landed Cost  ---[4.0-6.0x]-->  DTC Price

Example:
$12.00 landed  -->  $58.00 DTC price (79% gross margin)
                    - $25 CAC
                    - $6 shipping
                    - $2 packaging
                    - $1.68 payment processing
                    - 22% returns
                    = ~40-50% effective margin

Luxury

Landed Cost  ---[8-12x]-->  Retail Price

Example:
$45.00 landed  -->  $450.00 retail (90% gross margin)
Note: Pricing is perception-driven, not cost-driven.

Key Terms

| Term | Definition | |------|-----------| | Markup | Selling price / Cost (e.g., 2.5x) | | Gross Margin | (Selling price - Cost) / Selling price x 100 | | Keystone | Exactly 2.0x markup (50% gross margin) -- the minimum viable retail margin | | IMU | Initial Markup -- first markup before any markdowns | | MMU | Maintained Markup -- actual realized margin after markdowns and promotions |

Data Files

| File | Description | |------|-------------| | data/cost-structures.json | FOB, CMT, and Full Package models with formulas and components | | data/margin-models.json | Wholesale, DTC, and Luxury margin formulas with examples | | data/landed-cost-components.json | Freight, duty, insurance, brokerage, handling with rates and routes | | data/currency-pairs.json | 10 common sourcing currency pairs with volatility notes |

Quick Start

npm install @kobolabs/garment-costing-formulas

const costStructures = require('@kobolabs/garment-costing-formulas');

// Find the FOB model
const fob = costStructures.find(c => c.id === 'fob');
console.log(fob.formula);
// → "FOB = Fabric Cost + Trim Cost + CMT + Factory Overhead + Profit Margin"

Load individual files:

const margins = require('@kobolabs/garment-costing-formulas/data/margin-models.json');
const landed = require('@kobolabs/garment-costing-formulas/data/landed-cost-components.json');
const currencies = require('@kobolabs/garment-costing-formulas/data/currency-pairs.json');

// Get DTC hidden costs
const dtc = margins.models.find(m => m.id === 'dtc');
console.log(dtc.hiddenCosts);
// → [{ name: "Customer Acquisition", typical: "$15-40 per customer", ... }, ...]

Example Scripts

Landed Cost Calculator

node examples/landed-cost-calculator.js
node examples/landed-cost-calculator.js --fob 18 --origin china --destination us --quantity 3000
node examples/landed-cost-calculator.js --fob 12 --origin vietnam --destination us --quantity 5000 --weight 0.3

Margin Calculator

node examples/margin-calculator.js
node examples/margin-calculator.js --cost 15
node examples/margin-calculator.js --cost 8 --wholesale-markup 2.5 --retail-markup 2.2

Disclaimer

Rates and costs in this dataset are indicative estimates based on industry norms and publicly available data. They are provided for educational and planning purposes only. Actual costs vary significantly by volume, relationship, negotiation, season, and market conditions.

Always verify:

• Duty rates with a licensed customs broker or the relevant tariff schedule
• Freight rates with your freight forwarder (rates are volatile)
• CMT rates directly with factories (rates change with minimum quantities, complexity, and relationship)

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on adding costing models, updating freight rates, or expanding regional data.

Built by the team at Kobo -- modern PLM for fashion brands.